The Georgia Department of Transportation has set up a public feedback process for its intersection project at Johnson Ferry Road and Shallowford Road in East Cobb.
The $2.7 million project is funded mostly through the state, with additional county funding, and with an anticipated start and construction window in 2026.
A complete set of links detailing the project can be found here; there won’t be any in-person meetings to collect feedback, according to GDOT.
According to GDOT data, there were 181 total crashes within the project limits between 2019-2023, including one fatality.
Of that number, 129 crashes were in the JOSH intersection, with 71 being congestion-inducted, and 19 percent involving injuries.
GDOT is proposing to modify signals in the JOSH intersection, as well as at Johnson Ferry and the entrance to the Shallowford Falls Shopping Center (where the Kroger is located).
Additional lanes would be created westbound on Shallowford at Johnson Ferry (there’s currently on a single lane there now), and an eastbound through lane would be removed.
A right-turn island would be redone, with an urban shoulder and a 5-foot sidewalk, and concrete medians would be built along Shallowford “toenforce right-in/right-out commercial access.”
GDOT concludes that without those changes, “congestion and queuing are anticipated to worsen significantly over the coming decades. The proposed improvements will mitigate these anticipated effects.”
At the same time, the southwest corner of the intersection is being developed for East Cobb Church and townhomes below the reconfigured entrance of Waterfront Drive.
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Cobb County government has created some additional information and set up a hotline to address any further issues stemming from a data breach of its computer networks in March.
Cobb’s websites include options for paying property tax and water bills, view meeting agendas, conduct online library searches and to register and pay for for recreation and arts classes.
In a notice issued on Friday, Cobb government said that it has notified by mail those who have been affected by what has been acknowledged to be a ransomware attack.
“However, Cobb County is making individuals aware that there may have been additional personally identifiable information present in the involved systems at the time of the event” that is prompting the additional information, via an FAQ listing, to be provided.
The FAQ can be viewed by clicking here; the hotline number is 855-260-8394 between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
In its Friday release, which also served as a required official public notice, the county said that the data breach began on March 6, about two weeks earlier than has been previously acknowledged, and that “files were accessed and copied from a limited number of Cobb County systems by an unauthorized actor.”
The county has not acknowledged a report that the data breach was the work of a cybercrime gang that affected 10 individual accounts.
“There have been no significant developments concerning this incident since our last update. To date, only the original ten individuals have received notification letters,” the county said with its release Friday.
In the FAQ also released Friday, the county said that “if Cobb County determines that your information is specifically impacted, Cobb County will notify you consistent with its legal obligations.”
Being notified does not necessarily mean that someone has been a victim of identity theft, but “this time, there is no indication that anyone’s information has been subject to actual or attempted misuse in connection with this event.”
The information page also includes contact information for citizens interested in protecting their own information, including obtaining credit reports, and as well as the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
Cobb officials said last week that starting June 2, the main county website will be moving to the .gov domain, which will provide enhanced security, and that those plans have been in the works for nearly a year, before the data breach.
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If you’ve been wondering what’s going in the former CVS space at 1099 Johnson Ferry Road, it’s an early childhood education center called the Celebree School.
The school serves infants through Pre-K in what the franchise operation calls support of “the physical, emotional, social, and academic development of young learners, all while meeting Georgia’s rigorous early education standards.”
The East Cobb married couple franchisees, Farwa Khan and Aloke Devalia, who have three children of their own, are having a groundbreaking on June 26 for “a comprehensive renovation” of the former CVS site.
Celebree is a 31-year-old company founded in Maryland and Delaware, and that expanded in 2019, including a location in Smyrna. There are nearly locations in 24 states.
In a release, Khan and Devalia said that there will be clasrooms to “encourage curiosity, creativity, and exploration, along with a new, inclusive playground designed to engage children in physical activity and imaginative play.”
Farwa Khan previously ran an accredited private school in Marietta and has an academic background in public administration. Her husband has been in leadership roles at Delta Air Lines and Equifax.
“As parents, we understand how important it is to find a place where your child can learn, grow, and thrive,” Devalia said in the release. “From day one, Celebree School felt like more than just a school — it felt like a family dedicated to providing the best care and education for young children.”
The Celebree School in East Cobb is accepting enrollment. For information, click the QR in the graphic, call 770-574-4867 or visit its website.
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We hope you’ve enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer!
Here at East Cobb News we took a bit of a break from our usual schedule and took stock of the generosity of our readers.
Thank you so much for those of you who have pledged your financial support for the work we do at East Cobb News, giving you the local news that you love!
We provide this community resource free to readers, including our popular Sunday newsletter, and we want to keep it that way.
But as I have mentioned over the last couple of weeks in this space, I am considering the option of a paywall. We have a growing audience—around 60,000 unique monthly visitors on average, and more than 9,300 newsletter subscribers.
But while we are a frugal operation, we also have increased business costs, and we want to expand our coverage of the news in this large, busy community.
Nothing has been decided yet about charging for access, but as I laid out at the start of the year in launching the 1500 Club, we want to get to 1,500 recurring monthly donors by the end of the year.
That’s less than 20 percent of our newsletter subscribers, for example.
It’s an ambitious goal but I know we can do it, because we have a growing, engaged audience of readers who tell us all the time how much they appreciate what we do.
Now is the time to show it, and shortly I’ll be explaining how we use the donations that we get from readers. We want to be upfront with you about where the money goes.
As we close out May, I’ve set a goal of getting to 250 recurring monthly donors by the end of June. If we can do that each month, we’ll surpass 1,500 by the end of the year.
But first things first. At this time, we have fewer than 50 recurring monthly donors. We really do need your support now more than ever!
We’re suggesting a reasonable amount—$6 a month—but you can contribute more if you like. While we appreciate yearly and one-time contributions, we really want to have recurring monthly donations.
We have a safe and secure online payment platform, Press Patron, that you can manage easily.
With 250 monthly donors, we will bring in $1,500 a month at that $6 amount—there’s that 1500 number again—that will help us in a significant way. In my next column I will detail what that funding will support.
We also will be offering other incentives at higher payment tiers, which I also will outline in the near future.
Before you get too busy with your summer, please think for a moment about how much you value East Cobb News and make a contribution accordingly.
Nobody else is doing this in our community, and our plans are to keep giving you the local news that you love for a long time to come.
Let us know what you think about all of this: e-mail me at wendy@eastcobbnews.com. I’m interested in hearing from you.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Wheeler seniors listen to remarks from outgoing principal Paul Gillihan. CCSD screengrabs.
As the awaited getting their diplomas Saturday, some Wheeler High School seniors danced. Or waved to family members.
One insisted on having a selfie taken with Principal Paul Gillihan.
The Wheeler Class of 2025 gathered for the final time at the KSU Convocation Center brimming with smiles, joy and the satisfaction of completing an important part of their lives.
In delivering some words of wisdom, Valedictorian Declan Amerault encouraged his classmates not to take any opportunity they have, nor the time they have, for granted.
He said it took him until his senior year to finally commit to something, and participating in robotics, which he said he absolutely “loved.”
“I was just going through the motions,” said Amerault, who’s heading to Georgia Tech to study mathematics.
“Find something that you love and put everything you have into it. Now is the time to take charge of you life and figure out who you are.
He made several references to Wikipedia, including warnings from teachers as a freshman not to rely too much on the Internet encyclopedia.
“You can find anything on Wikipedia,” Amerault said, “but you’ll never find out what makes you tick, and what makes you smile, and what makes you unique.
“You will not have a Wikipedia page . . . and that is a good thing. At this point in our lives, we are the writers, not the readers, of our own Wikipedia page.”
Gillihan, who is leaving Wheeler after six years to become principal at Campbell High School, told the graduates to “go forward, make good choices and do the right thing and you will have a great life.”
Click the middle button below to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
Members of the Knights of Columbus from the Catholic Church of St. Ann and Holy Family Catholic Church in East Cobb will taking part in a Memorial Day Mass on Monday in Marietta.
The K of C Assembly 3770 from St. Ann will be joined by Assembly 2161, comprising the Holy Family, St. Joseph and St. Thomas parishes at the service at the Marietta National Cemetery starting at 9 a.m. Monday.
According to a message on the St. Ann website, “the Most Reverend Gregory J. Hartmayer, Archbishop of Atlanta, will concelebrate a commemorative Mass with other Atlanta Archdiocesen bishops and offer a homily of gratitude to the deceased veterans. The public is invited. Seating and parking are complimentary made available for the audience.”
Here’s more about what will transpire at the service:
“A contingent of Knights of the Fourth Degree—the highest ranking, or ‘Patriotic’ level of the order—will escort the Archbishop to the cemetery’s marble-columned rostrum, which will be draped with red, white and blue bunting. Other members will form a color guard and post the colors for the National Anthem.
“A section of the fraternal assembly from St. Ann’s parish—’The Note-able Knights’—will stand at attention during the Mass. Accompanied by their church keyboardist, Ed Bolduc, the ‘Note-ables’ will lead the congregation in liturgical hymns, such as The 23rd Psalm and How Great Thou Art, followed by a professional solo trumpeter, who will perform Taps at the end of the Mass. The program will conclude with the singing of God Bless America as the Archbishop and Honor Guard exit in procession.”
The Knights of Columbus have sponsored the Marietta Mass since 1988 to honor more than 17,000 veterans who have fallen during America’s wars.
Parking is provided in the Switzer Library parking lot as well as a trolley to transport attendees to the Mass site.
The Cemetery is located at 50 Washington Ave. in Marietta.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Shannon, President of the University of North Georgia, with remarks also from Brigadier General Dennis Watts, Commanding General, Georgia Defense Force.
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L to R: John Kone, past president KCMGK; Rosie Teague, KCMGK; Aailyah Reeves, Powers Ferry ES Silver Pen award winner; Jim Perry, past president KCMGK and Philip Gold, VP KCMGK
Submitted information and photo:
Over 30 years ago, Jack Boone of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K launched a Signature Project for the Club called the Silver Pen Award. This program is now a Georgia District of Kiwanis Program available to fourth grades statewide. We invited local schools to have their fourth grade classes compete for a school-wide Silver Pen Award by completing a writing assignment submitted by the Club.
The title of the essay this year was “The Person I Admire Most.” Each classroom submitted their top two entries to the School Administration, who submitted one from each classroom to the Silver Pen Coordinator for Kiwanis. A panel of professionals and former educators then evaluated the remaining submissions and chose the school winner.
This year Acworth Elementary School, Addison Elementary School, Powers Ferry Elementary School, and Rocky Mount Elementary School accepted our invitation to have their students compete.
The winning 4th grade recipients were: ACWORTH ES – Keyden Kanau; ADDISON ES – Evoleht Haddock; POWERS FERRY ES – Aaliyah Reeves and ROCKY MOUNT ES – Rachael Wilson. Jim Perry, Past President and Silver Pen Coordinator, along with a group of leaders from the Club, presented the awards to the winners in each school during the morning broadcast, so all students could witness the presentation in their respective schools.
“Each winner received a Silver Pen in a velvet sleeve, a Kiwanis Club Pen, 25 golden commemorative, uncirculated one-dollar coins from the U.S. Mint, and an engraved plaque. We enjoyed many great essays from the students this year and congratulate each winner for a job well done. Each classroom winner received a Silver Pen and a Kiwanis Club Pen,” explained Jim Perry, the Silver Pen award presenter.
We are very grateful to the schools for their cooperation in continuing to support this writing program. The Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K looks forward to presenting the Silver Pen award again next year and we wholeheartedly extend our congratulations to each award winner.
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
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Pope seniors listen to speakers before receiving their diplomas. CCSD screengrabs.
The mood was festive and the spirit was buoyant at the KSU Convocation Center Friday morning as Pope High School’s Class of 2025 took their turn to celebrate graduation.
Principal Matt Bradford told them in his remarks to try to take that feeling with them as they head out into the world, no matter what their immediate or future plans may be.
He said that “there is a bond that no one else can take from you” as a Pope graduate, but as individuals they will be tested as they move into adulthood.
“Attitude is one of the most powerful choices you can make in your life,” Bradford said. “Your attitude is contagious.”
He said that successful and happy adults possess positive attitudes that help them through adversity, and he implored the graduates to carry “an attitude that makes a difference.”
Pope salutatorian Aanchal Acharya didn’t join her classmates until the 10th grade, when her family moved to East Cobb from Michigan.
The Georgia Tech-bound aspiring neuroscientist congratulated them “for our hard work, dedication and perseverance in getting through high school.
“Every step of the journey has made us more confident as we’ve become the best version of ourselves. We have laughed, loved, cried and felt about every emotion imaginable.
“Each emotion, each experience has brought us to this moment.”
Her parting words came from a quote from Christopher Robin of Winnie the Pooh fame:
“You are stronger than you seem, braver than you believe, and smarter than you think.”
Click the middle button below to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Walton’s 698-member senior class is the largest in the Cobb County School District in the last decade. CCSD screengrabs.
An eventful senior year for the Walton High School Class of 2025 went off without a hitch on Thursday during graduation ceremonies at the KSU Convocation Center.
The class made of up 698 seniors—the largest in the Cobb County School District this year and the largest in the last decade—includes 563 who will be getting HOPE Scholarship financial assistance to go to college.
“It’s who breathe life into Walton,” senior class president Joel Bishara said. “You make Walton a home for anyone.”
He noted that the school year started out with a small fire on campus, and included tuberculosis testing and a bomb threat that was not considered an active threat.
“It’s hard to believe we made it this far,” Bishara joked.
He told his classmates that “no matter where you are or what you do, we will always be connected. Once a Raider, always a Raider.”
The Class of 2025 was the first for Dr. Stephanie Santoro as principal. She’s been a teacher and administrator at Walton for 23 years, and said she had a learning curve to master in her new job.
They include many more obligations, including meetings and e-mails, but “I’ve had the time of my life.”
She thanked the seniors for “the memories you have provided and the legacy that you are leaving behind.”
The school year was marked with a 50th anniversary celebration, as well as the first-ever Senior Sunset last Friday at Raider Valley.
“There will be many more things that you will have to do,” Santoro said. “But be sure to appreciate the things you get to do.”
Click the middle button below to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
Lassiter’s Class of 2025 gathers together for the final time. CCSD screengrabs.
Before he and his classmates scatter in their post-high school stage, Obadiah Cao wanted to hold on to them just a little bit longer.
Lassiter High School’s 2025 valedictorian came to Cobb as a sophomore from Boston, and wasn’t sure what to expect when he arrived.
What he found is something he said he’ll cherish forever, as he said during Wednesday’s commencement ceremony at the KSU Convocation Center.
“I found my community in the student body at Lassiter and especially in this graduating class,” he said. “And I implore you to find your community.”
It’s a process he and his fellow seniors will have to undertake once again. For Cao, it means leaving the area. He will be attending Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he’ll study computer science.
But he urged his classmates to “remember the impact the communities here have had on you. Don’t be afraid to seek out more opportunities .”
Lassiter principal Chris Richie echoed that theme, saying that “what stands out the most to me is not where you’re going or what you’re doing after graduation, but who you’ve become as leaders in your four years at Lassiter.”
He noted that this year’s seniors have logged more than 21,000 hours of community service that also adds to their legacy.
“I hope your memories of Lassiter are something you will carry with pride,” Richie said. “The foundation that you built at Lassiter will serve you for a lifetime.”
Click the middle button below to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
Kell seniors assemble at the KSU Convocation Center before getting their diplomas Wednesday. CCSD screengrabs.
Kell High School’s seniors got a stirring message from one of their classmates during Wednesday’s graduation ceremony at the KSU Convocation Center.
Austin Killebrew is one of the most accomplished members of the Longhorns’ Class of 2025, having been named salutatorian, among other honors. He’ll be attending Georgia Tech in the fall, planning on studying chemical engineering.
But in giving his first public speech, Killebrew shared his origin story that served as inspiration to those like him, who are departing to many places for the next stage of their lives.
When Killebrew was a baby in China, he was adopted by American parents who brought him back to Northeast Cobb in 2009.
He asked his classmates “to reflect on when you last gave someone a chance. When you take a moment to invest in someone else, you’re not just giving them your time, you’re giving them a reason to believe in themselves.
“Never forget where you came from,” Killebrew said. “Because in the end, it won’t be trophies or titles that we hold onto. It’ll be the people who believed in us when no one else did—the people who gave us a chance.”
Principal Peter Giles told the Kell seniors that “where you are going is not where you are right now.” He urged them to “take the time to be the very best that you can become, and don’t be afraid of failure.
“Failure is success in disguise, and it’s how we learn. Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself along the way.”
Click the middle button below to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
The gourmet toast and juice bar Toastique is opening a location soon in East Cobb, in Pinestraw Place (4250 Roswell Road, Suite 150).
That’s next to Trader Joe’s and in the former Dan’s Fan City space, and it will be second Toastique in metro Atlanta.
The concept that started in Washington, D.C. in 2018 opened in Midtown last year, and has locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The Toastique website says there will be more expansion in “Atlanta” in 2025 but didn’t specify East Cobb.
The franchise operators are Rex and Leslie Sheridan, an East Cobb-area married couple.
Rex Sheridan told East Cobb News that the target opening is the fall, and that “we are excited to bring healthy, delicious food with a great atmosphere and convenient location to our neighbors in East Cobb.”
In addition to gourmet toasts, the Toastique menu includes bowls, coffees and teas, smoothies and cold-pressed juices, grab and go snacks and wellness shots.
Featured items include an Avocado smash toast and a hummus Greek toast.
The Toastique founder, Brianna Keefe, says on the company website that “Toastique is where beauty and all-day brunch-y goodness come together to break bread, and smoothies, and coffee, and juices . . .
“We are the fast-casual, modern dining your inner health nut has been waiting for.”
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The East Cobb area won’t be growing that much over the next-quarter century. Education Planners presentation.
At last week’s Cobb Board of Education presentation on long-term enrollment projections, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s comments on apartments and transience got most of the attention.
But the demographic forecast by Education Planners, a private company that provides the Cobb County School District with detailed metrics, continues a pattern in regards to enrollment at East Cobb schools.
There’s been little to no growth for several years, and what has increased is very slight. According to school-by-school forecasts (see tables below), most public schools in the East Cobb area will be at or under capacity between now and 2033.
And overall projections for the district are expected to remain steady during that period, from 105,738 currently, to 106,013 in 2028 and 105,932 by 2033.
“We are growing, but we are growing in pockets,” James Wilson, Education Planners president, told the Cobb school board.
Most of the overcrowding and enrollment growth continues in the Cumberland-Smyrna area, where a new middle school—Betty Gray Middle School—opened in recent years.
In addition, capacity has increased at Campbell High School, which has the largest enrollment in the district with around 3,000 students.
And while Osborne High School got a new campus in 2020 built for 2,300 students, it’s still well over capacity, to nearly 2,800 students.
The demographics at schools in East Cobb are different, including the two biggest high schools, Walton, which is just under capacity.
However, Wheeler High School and its feeder, East Cobb Middle School, are projected to remain above capacity over the next few years.
That’s the only attendance cluster in the East Cobb area that contains a significant number of apartment complexes.
Brumby Elementary School, also in the Wheeler cluster, is below capacity after being overcrowded in its former location on Powers Ferry Road.
East Side and Sope Creek elementary schools, both in the Walton cluster, are expected to remain close to their four-figure capacities, as are Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools (Walton) and Lassiter High School.
Education Planners takes data from the Atlanta Regional Commission, Cobb building permits, live birth numbers and other sources to project long-term enrollment to help Cobb school district officials plan for school construction needs.
A rebuild of the Sprayberry High School classroom building is underway and will be completed next year, and there are classroom additions at other schools in East Cobb.
Bells Ferry Elementary School also is getting a replacement facility that is slated to open in 2027.
Additional district-wide dem0graphic data from Wilson’s presentation is included the East Cobb enrollment projections. Click the middle button to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
Students from four schools in East Cobb recently placed in the top three in their respective grade levels at the Georgia Olympia Science Olympiad.
East Side was second and Sedalia Park was third in the elementary category, Dodgen finished second among middle schools and for the first time for a school in the Cobb County School District, Walton won the AA division in the STEM skills competition.
Science Olympiad is for students in grades 3-12, and during the school year they take part in various STEM competitions, and are scored together as teams.
Here’s more about their achievements per a CCSD release (and check out the Sedalia Park video at the bottom):
Sedalia Park Elementary has enjoyed strong Science Olympiad teams for over 30 years. Mrs. Leland has been the club sponsor for 40 years and has provided direction and consistency for the competing teams during that time. Students apply and are chosen based on grades, teamwork, and a commitment to meet every Thursday after school. Administration, staff, parents, and community help and support the team.
“Something felt special this year,” Mrs. Leland said. “Students were super focused and passionate about their subject area or building event. Everyone on our team medaled 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at the Title 1 competition. We won 2nd place at Regionals, which earned us a spot in the State Competition at KSU!”
Dodgen Middle School’s award-winning Science Olympiad Team also had an outstanding year! Coached by 6th-grade teacher Barbara Kappel, the team won the Regional competition, which put them through to the State Tournament held in Athens, Georgia, in late April. In an impressive showing, Dodgen’s team earned 2nd place in the State!
“Dodgen’s Science Olympiad team has a reputation of outstanding achievement, and with the many hours these students and coaches put in outside of the classroom, they deserve to be recognized!” said Dodgen Principal Dr. Patricia Alford. “We are so proud of all the team members and Mrs. Kappel for representing our school so well at the state level!”
The Walton Science Olympiad team claimed 1st place at the State Tournament held at Georgia Institute of Technology, earning an invitation to the 2025 National Science Olympiad Tournament at the University of Nebraska in May.
Walton rose to the top of a competitive field of 24 teams at the State Tournament in the Division C “AA Flight” (highest level of competition), a flight that included many of the state’s most accomplished programs. Walton beat Fulton Science Academy (the 2024 State Champions), Chattahoochee High School (the 2024 runner-up), and perennial powerhouse Brookwood High School for the title. This will be Walton’s first return to Nationals since 2022, when the team was State runner-up.
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Sprayberry seniors celebrate after placing their tassels in the “graduated” position. Screengrabs from CCSD livestream.
The Class of 2025 at Sprayberry High School has graduated.
“We did it!” proclaimed senior class president Abraham Grant III, then he repeated the line with effect, and pointed to the crowd.
“We did it!”
The first of six East Cobb public high schools held its commencement exercises Tuesday afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center.
As one of the featured speakers, Grant told his fellow seniors that “the world beyond these walls is full of possibilities” and that “we only get one shot to live the life that we live.”
He rattled off a number of questions he said he tried to answer during his four years at Sprayberry about putting forth his best efforts, not just academically, but in helping others and finding enthusiasm and satisfaction in whatever he did.
“Success isn’t about how much money you make or your material successes that you achieve,” Grant said. “If you are truly passionate about something, go after it head-first and whole-heartedly.”
Cobb Board of Education member David Chastain thanked the seniors for their patience as the school undergoes a rebuild they won’t get to enjoy.
Tuesday’s graduation was the last at Sprayberry for principal Sara Fetterman, who has been appointed the new principal at Wheeler High School.
On Wednesday, Kell and Lassiter will have graduation ceremonies, also at KSU. Full East Cobb graduation schedule is here.
Click the middle button below to view the slideshow.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up and you’re good to go!
An East Cobb resident who wanted to use her home on Paper Mill Road to run an outdoor summer day camp for up to eight children withdrew that request Tuesday before the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
“I just want to invest in our kids,” Emily Jordan told commissioners of her summer camp proposal.
Following a lengthy discussion about concerns over traffic and setting an unwelcome community precedent, Emily Jordan withdrew the request for a 24-month land-use permit without prejudice.
Commissioners approved the withdrawal by a 4-0 vote, with new commissioner Erick Allen absent.
The vote means that Jordan can bring the proposal back at any time, since it wasn’t denied.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb said while she commended Jordan for wanting to work with children, “but to me this is not really appropriate in a residential area. It’s not a home-based business. It’s not allowed.”
Jordan and her family last fall moved into a home on a two-acre property on Paper Mill Road near Woodlawn Drive on land zoned R-80 (low-density residential).
An occupational therapist, she has children aged one and two years old, and wanted to operate the camp on a half-day basis with age-appropriate activities that she said would be “therapeutic based.”
She would run the camp one week a month in June, July and August, and the activities might include meal preparation and nutrition, gardening, as well as carpentry and similar trade-oriented activities for older children to supplement traditional academic subjects.
“These are things that can help them be more independent,” Jordan told commissioners. “This is a passion project. This doesn’t pay our bills.”
Although the Cobb Zoning Staff recommended denial, the request was recommended for approval two weeks ago by the Cobb Planning Commission.
The original proposal would have had between 5 and 12 additional people on the property each day, including volunteers and professionals to help with the teaching and a state requirement for child-to-adult ratios at camps.
Jordan said the driveway is large enough to accommodate parking for the camp and that there would be no deliveries while it is in session.
She also said that she properly informed neighbors of her camp plans and none of them objected.
But the zoning staff said the use was not compatible with the neighborhood and cited the lack of a traffic plan with Jordan’s application.
Richard Grome of the East Cobb Civic Association countered that traffic would be a problem, and commercial activity makes this “a precedent-setting case.”
He said the proposal is confusing and short on specifics, in terms of how many people would be on the property and for how long, and what activities in particular would be offered.
Approval “would set a negative precedent for homeowners in residential neighborhoods to use their property for summer camps,” Grome said. “This is not a home occupation. There are too many clients visiting the home at the same time and is too intense for a business operated from a residence.”
He said there’s additional traffic using the Paper Mill-Woodlawn area as a detour due to the ongoing Lower Roswell Road construction project.
“This isn’t a big operation,” Jordan said, “This isn’t 100 kids at a YMCA camp.”
She said she never heard from anyone at the ECCA or anyone who might be opposed to the camp.
Birrell suggested holding the application but Commissioner Keli Gambrill said she would vote to deny it “because there’s a lot homework that needs to be done,” including traffic plans, getting proper permits for the food activities and meeting code requirements.
A denial would have meant that Jordan couldn’t bring her plans back for 12 months.
Gambrill suggested she resubmit the application after resolving those issues.
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Members of the Knights of Columbus from the Catholic Church of St. Ann and Holy Family Catholic Church in East Cobb will taking part in a Memorial Day Mass on Monday in Marietta.
